Visiting CMU

Campus Information

Melissa Loehnig

Active as a solo pianist, chamber musician and collaborative performer, Melissa Loehnig
is Assistant Professor of Music in Piano and Theory at Central Methodist University
in Fayette, Missouri. She spends her summers employed as a staff pianist at the American
Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. She has also been chosen from
a national field of applicants for the Opera Theatre Music Festival of Lucca (Italy),
the Baldwin-Wallace Art Song Festival, and for the highly competitive Songfest Program
in Malibu, California.

In February of 2011, representing Florida State University as a part of the Promising
Artists of the 21st Century program, Dr. Loehnig was awarded the opportunity to travel and perform (along
with soprano, Dr. Christina Villaverde) throughout the country of Costa Rica. This
program is held as part of a collaboration between Florida State University and the
North American Cultural Center in Costa Rica. Along with performing, Dr. Loehnig and
Dr. Villaverde held several masterclasses at the University of Costa Rica, the Opera
de camara de Costa Rica, the Escuela Municiple de Artes Integradas en Santa Ana EMAI,
and the Centro Cultural Jose Rigueres in San Ramon. This concert tour also included
the Latin-American premiere of Libby Larsen’s My Antonia.

Dr. Loehnig has performed throughout the United States. These performances include
concerts with Choral Arts, a semi-professional chorus based in Seattle, Washington,
with whom she performed the world premiere of William Averitt’s The Dream Keeper for chorus and piano four hands. This piece is also featured on their recently released
CD entitled Mornings Like This on the Gothic Recording Label. She has also been invited to do guest artist work
with the University of Washington Chamber Singers performing the same piece. In June
of 2012, Dr. Loehnig was a guest artist for the El Paso Summer Music Festival along
with conductor and colleague Dr. Jeremy Mims. Together, they held a master class for
students interested in pursuing advanced degrees in music. As a duo, they have also
performed as Guest Artists for the Spokane Steinway Gallery Concert Series in Spokane,
Washington. Most recently, Dr. Loehnig has performed with the University of Missouri-Kansas
City Conservatory Singers on concerts in October 2012, February 2013, and on a recording
that took place in April 2013. Dr. Loehnig has also had the honor of working with
such musicians as Rachel Barton Pine, Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, Barbara
Bonney, Christa Ludwig, Stephanie Blythe, Margo Garrett, Jake Heggie, and many others.

Dr. Loehnig received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance, graduating
with honors from Whitman College. She also holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative
Piano from Florida State University and has completed her Doctor of Music degree in
Piano Performance with a focus on collaborative piano from the same institution.